"Anything for you, yes"

This was the day the Oregon National Guard rolled out its Fort Oregon reintegration theme and while it remains a work in progress, it is very timely to begin calling attention to the issues that will be associated with the demobilization of Oregon's 41st Brigade, which is now strung out from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Kuwait (and maybe still Iraq? I'm not sure.)

Some of the people who have been strong advocates of the state's reintegration efforts (State Sen. Martha Schrader, PSU official Mike Burton, ODVA chief Jim Willis and Oregon National Guard (ret.) COL Scott McRae came in to The O. to talk about the various initiatives intended to act as a safety net/motivator/resource/cattle prod for returning vets -- for all veterans of all wars and all branches, in fact. We'll be writing about these issues for months to come, I know.

But for now, let me just suggest that anybody with any useful expertise -- financial planning, marriage counseling, landlords, employment offers -- contact the National Guard via the Fort Oregon website to offer your services. We've got 2,700 soldiers coming home, and the new estimate I hear for joblessness is about 50 percent. There's even a handful who need places to live. I know the unemployment rate in this state is in double-digits, but this is the time to ask if you have a way to lend assistance to any of the hundreds of people who put their lives on hold for a year -- many for the second, third or fourth times -- to serve in uniform in the Middle East.